Improvement in plows



LEAVITT HUNT, OF WEATHERSFIELD, VERMONT.

IMPROVEMENT IN PLOWS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 93,994, dated August 24, 1869.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, LEAVITT HUNT, of Weathersfield, in the county of Windsor and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plows; and the following is hereby declared to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had'to the'accompanying drawings.

My invention relates principally to what are known as lsulky-plows, although a portion of it is designed foruse with any plow of ordinary or suitable construction.

In Letters Patent No. 77,617, dated May 5, 1868, I have described a sulky-plow in which the plow-beam is connected with the Whiffletree, and is combined with an auxiliary beam hinged to the axle, and actuated by a lever so as to raise or depress the plow, the depth of penetration of the latter being regulated by a gage, and both the plowbeam and the frame or pole to which the whifiietree is secured being slotted, so as to allow the plow the necessary longitudinal play while being raised or lowered.

The plo'w to which my present invention relates is organized upon the same general plan as that just stated, but contains many features of importance and utility which are not shown in the patented plow referred to.

My invention may be stated to consist, Erst, in the combination, substantially as hereinafter described, with the hinged plow-beam and sulky-frame, of a stiff or rigid gage-bar to regulate the depth of furrow, and to 'cause the plow-point to bite or enter the ground at once; second, in the combination, with the plowbeam, of arms hinged to the sulky-frame, and connected with the beam and with the lever for elevating the same, as hereinafterdescribed, so that said arms shall serve both to stiffen or brace, and, in connection with the lever, to raise or depress, the plow; third, in the combi'nation, with the slotted plow-beam and whifletree held in a slot in the sulky-frame lor pole, and connected with the beam by a draftchain or equivalent device, of the hinged bracing-arms, the lever for actuating the same, land the rigidor' stiEy gage-bar; fourth, in the combination of the plow-beam with the handlever for raising or lowering the same, and an auxiliary Vfoot-lever, also connected with the beam, and adapted to act in conjunction VVor not) carrying the forward roller, and a slotted branch arm connected with the roller-arm and the beam, and curved concentrically with the center of motion of the roller-arm, whereby said roller-arm may be swung up or down so as to raise or lower the roller, and then be held in the-desired position by means of the set-screw or equivalent device which iits in the slotted branch arm, and connects the samey with the plow-beam.

The nature of my invention will be readily understood by reference to the drawings, in whichp l Figure l is a plan view of a sulky-plow made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same with one of the wheels removed. Figs. 3 and 4 are views of different arrangements of the device for carrying and adjusting the forward roller last above-mentioned.

The attachment of the plowto the sulkyframe A is accomplished simply yet effectively by means of two arms, a., hinged to the axle at b, and having their ends which are to hold the plow-beam B united together so as to form in some sort a box which lits over the beam, and is held to the same by means of a pin, c, which passes through a slot, d, in Vthe beam. These arms stiffen and brace the plow, and give it strength just where it is needed. They are also employed to raise or lower the plow, and to this end .are connected with a suitable system of levers, c, which are actuated i a bolt passing through a slot, h, in the pole of the sulky-frame. The object of the slots h and d in the pole and plow-beam is,^as eX- plained in my patent hereinbefore referred to, to allow the necessary longitudinal play of the plow while beingraised or lowered, and at other times when needed. It will be noticed that the draft is direct upon the plow, and that the snlky-frame is therefore subject to no undue strain.

In order to regulate the depth of furrow I employ a stiffor rigid gage-bar, l, which is pivoted to the plow-beam and passes up through the sulky-frame, where it is held by meansof a pin passing through one of the series of gage-holes in the bar. By raising or lowering this bar, the depth of penetration of the plow can be regulated at pleasure. As the bar is stiff and unyielding, it forces the point of the plow, just as soon as the machine moves forward, to instantly bite or enter the earth. It will be seen, also, that vby reason.

of the slots h and d, the plow, no matter what the gage may happen to be, can be lifted or depressed by means of the hand-lever, without altering the gage, for the gage-bar, being;

in eii'ect pivoted at both ends, allows the'free movement of the beam.

In order to determine and x the hand-lever cause its end to enter one of the recesses in' The end of the bar mf the segmental rack 1^. is also forked, so as not only to enter the recess in the rack but to extend down on each side ofthe same, and thus to steady the hand-lever and prevent any lateral motion. It is needless to say that the rack is curved in the arc of a circle whichhas the pivot of the hand-lever for its center. i l

In using the hand-lever the operator takes it by the handle, and, naturally pressing the longer arm of the lever o toward the handlever, thereby draws up the bar m, disen-` gages it from the rack, and leaves the handlever free to be moved to any point desired.

By means of the devices hereinbefore de'- scribed the depthV of furrowcan be regulated,

Y andthe plow'can be raised entirely from the ground while going to or returning from work. It sometimes happens, however, that the plow is removed from the sulky and has applied to it the ordinary -beam and handles, and in such case it becomes necessary to provide means for gaging the plow, or lifting it entirely from the ground. For this purpose I employ a very efficient device. (Shown in Figs'. 3 and 4.)

Itconsists of an arm,s, which vis pivoted to the forward part`of the plow-beam-B, and"` Between carries at its lower end the roller t. the pivot and the roller is arranged a branch arm, o, which is curved so as to describe a portionof a circle of which the pivoted point of thearm s is the center, and has formed in it a slot, w, or its equivalent, through which passes a set-screw, m, which enters the beam. By loosening the set-screw the arm s may be swung up or down so as to set the roller at any gage desired, after which the screw is tightened and4 the whole` device thereby is fixed firmly in place. The arm should be of Vsuch length that when it is in a perpendicular l position the roller should come at least an inch below the ,point ofthe plow. In Fig. 4 the arm S and branch arm u are formed in one piece. In Fig. 3 the branch arm is fastened to both roller-arm and plow-beam in an adjustable manner, while theroller-armis also adjustable up and downf .Either device will operate well, though lthat shown in Fig. 3 is adapted more especially to beused with plows of varying sizes. The manner in which the device shown in this figure is operated is as follows: p l.

First mark the height of plowand deterymine to what height the roller-arm must be adjusted to bring the rollerwhen held perpendicularly, atleast one inch below the level of the plow-point. Then see how far forward on the plowfbeam the branch arm will reach from the pivoted point of the roller-arm, and, having determined this, fix one end of the .branch arm at thisr point yon the plow-beam, and fix the other end on the lower part of the roller-arm vat a-point equidistant with the point selected onv thev plowbea1n from the pivoted point of the roller-arm.- Thus, no matter what may be the length of the rollerarm, the branch arm can always be `correspondingly adjusted, and the same device therefore is adapted to be used on plows of varying sizes. A f ,n

The operation of the device shownin Fig. 4: will be understood without explanation. lIt will be seen, however, that vthough the two devices dierslightly in' construction, they, however, possess in common the essential feature of4 the roller-arm combined witha vcurved branch arm, by the adjustment ,of

which the position of the roller isdetermined.

Having described-.my invention, `and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into eiiect, what I claim, and desirevto vsecure by Letters Patentis` Y, l Vl. The combination, substantially as herein described, with `the hinged plow-beam and sulky-frame, of .a stiior rigid gage-bar to `regulate the depth of furrow, and to cause the plow-point to bite or enter the, ground at thek instant the machine is moved forward.;`

2. The combination, with the plow-beam, of arms hinged to the sulky-.frame and connected with the vbeam and with the lever Afor elevating the same as herein described, so that said arms shall serve both `to stiEen or brace, and, in connection with the lever, to raise or depress, the plow.

3. The combination, with the slotted plowbeam and whiflietree held in a slot in the sulky-frame or pole, and connected with the beam by a draft-chain or equivalent device, of

' the hinged bracing-arms, the lever` for actudevice for operating the same, said bar being` held to the lever and forked so as to straddle the rack, as and for the purposes shown and set forth.

6. The combination, with the forward part` of the beam of a plow of otherwise ordinary or suitable construction, of a pendent arm carrying the roller, and pivoted or hinged t0 the plow-beam, and a curved and slotted branch arm connected with both the plowbeam and the roller-arm, in the manner and for the purposes substantially as described.

1n testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification before two subscribing witnesses.

LEAVITT HUNT.

Witnesses:

CEAS. B. F. ADAMS, v A. W. ADAMS. 

